School and More School

March 22, 2010

Our fifth residential conference for school (March 10-14) was jam packed. The very first day we in the Leadership & Organi-zational Development (LOD) track delivered 40-minute training segments to each other. The next day and a half was spent on theories of leadership in preparation for Marketplace, a 24-hour experience in which the second-year LOD students lead companies employing all of the first year students. I was the CEO of the large organization (19 people including me), with four managers beneath me. The experience ends with an hour-and-a-half long market during the lunch break during which time we sell the products and services that we've developed. After the market, the profit is calculated and then divided between all of the employees and managers (so everyone is making real money.) The goal is to develop a healthy organization that makes a profit. It's a very intensive experience. People tend to stay up late at night getting ready for the next day, and we're all being monitored and evaluated by faculty members who fine us for infractions (being late, not having our name tag showing, or breaking one of the other Marketplace rules) and pull us aside to provide feedback. After Marketplace is over, there are debrief sessions for the group as a whole, and then for the first and second years separately. By the end of it all, we were all very tired and disoriented, and I had learned a huge amount.

The last day the first year students received assessments from their second-year i-group classmates and from their faculty i-group leader, so we second years spent a big chunk of time between Marketplace and 10:30 Sunday morning preparing to deliver that feedback. Three of the first years in our i-group received partial competency grades, meaning that they are not on track to graduate unless they make some significant changes (e.g. rewrite papers, or demonstrate more core communication competencies in i-group). As you can imagine, that's an emotional day for the first years, and we second years bear responsibility for providing honest and helpful feedback.

After being immersed with everyone for five days, the return home was jarring. One my classmates described it as Sudden Community Intimacy Deprivation Syndrome (SCIDS). Then there's the post-residential conference work of getting notes in order, reviewing what's next on the reading list, getting clarity on assignments, and following up with people to bring closure to the work we just did. That along with a graduation planning meeting took a big chunk of the week. Friday my friend Katie and I spent the afternoon together writing papers at the University of Washington Graduate School Library -- a beautiful building with a cathedral-like reading room right out of the movies. It was so helpful to get out of the house to write with someone.

I have five papers to write between now and April 30, so should have no problem keeping myself busy between now and then.

On a non-school note, after seven months of training I finally did 100 pushups on Friday morning! My friends Katie and John A. witnessed the event after our morning meditation at Katie's studio. It felt like a real accomplishment, and has motivated me to tackle another fitness challenge, the P90X, which I'll start this week.

I hope that you have all had wonderful weeks, and that all is well in your lives. Please send emails! It's always good to hear from you.


Copyright © 2010 Lynn Thorsell, All rights reserved.